4G WiFi - MotorhomeWiFi.com or DIY version?

[chenderson1965]

Hi all,

We are planning our next adventures and, since it seems that will need to be away for longer to go to some of the places we would like to see, one necessity is reliable Wi-Fi so that we can keep on top of our self-employed businesses on the move. (On our recent trip to France we found a surprising number of stops where the signal was very weak or not existent and finding a café with Wi-Fi is not always convenient.

Having done my research, it seems that the Huawei unlocked system from motorhomewi-fi.com ( https://www.motorhomewifi.com/product/4g-roof-antenna-e5577-mifi-save-25/) gets good reviews for £299 plus fitting of about £100 (plus the cost of a data sim of course).

However, I can get exactly the same Wi-Fi Rueter for about £40 on eBay and an aerial for a similar amount. Given that the kit seems to contain little other than a few cables, that makes £299 look rather pricey. I have two questions, therefore,

1) I’m still wondering How much better signal I will get using this kind of external aerial rather than just tethering to my phone. Obviously different networks will have different signal qualities but, leaving this aside, I’d be interested in anyone else’s experience of using an external 4G aerial and how much better this is than using a phone inside your vehicle. I’m particularly interested in anyone else who has, like us, a motorhome with aluminium construction which I guess may make some difference to how good the mobile signal is inside.

2) Does anyone have any experience of self installing this kind of system? I guess the wiring part shouldn’t be too tricky but I’d be extremely nervous of drilling a hole in my roof!

Thanks a lot.

Chris

 

[Gellyneck]

John? DBK

 

[MisterB]

i have used the motorhome wifi on a static caravan and found it to be a very useful bit of kit - it allows me to connect up to ten devices using just one connection. there may be other ways of achieving this but i also found the support given was really helpful.

 

[steviebouy]

Ah ha! I find myself with the same predicament. At the moment I am using an EE Osprey which I had on contract from EE. Before that I had an EE dongle (plug in USB thing) also on contract with EE. The Osprey (which is an Alcatel Y855) has served us well and our most recent trips through Germany and then touring from York to Edinburgh saw us with a perfect Wifi signal at all times. However the Osprey is locked to EE and the requirement to use other providers SIM cards provided me with the opportunity to upgrade and like you I chose the Huawei E5577 in unlocked form which I purchased from eBay for a little more than £40.00. Considering the Osprey gave us a perfect signal (albeit in more urban areas) I have postponed the purchase of an antenna until our travels take us to more remote areas. When I do I am expecting to mount the router in a high level cupboard where the antenna can be mounted directly above and thus remove the necessity for complicate wiring.
Since the start of our motorhoming life I am thinking that cell signals have improved considerably and the receiving equipment I am using has also improved.
Good luck
Steve

 

[jollyrodger]

I have the eBay (DIY)
System with a solwise router
Works well for
Sorry missed the 4g bit
But then not had problems using a mifi .

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[chenderson1965]

I have the eBay (DIY)
System with a solwise router
Works well for

Thanks. How easy did you find it to fit?

 

[peterc10]

I got the antenna from Motorhome wifi and installed it myself to use with the same router that I already had. Installation is easy as long as you have the courage to drill a hole through the roof. Biggest problem is deciding where to put it so as to hide the wires and not drill through any wires in the roof. I installed a standard 12v ciggy socket next to it and powered it via a USB adapter.

We use preloaded PAYG SIM cards from Three and it seems to work OK for us.

 

[mitzimad]

drilling through the roof is easy its knowing where to drill through without hitting anything existing thats harder.common sense and a bit of inspection inside usually is enough most vansvery little in the ceilings just look for obvious paths from switches to lights or electric skylight and fans

 

[MR. FUSION]

If you have any damp warranty left check it won't be voided by DIY drilling if you want to keep it.

 

[jollyrodger]

Thanks. How easy did you find it to fit?

DBK is the expert on that

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[chenderson1965]

Ah ha! I find myself with the same predicament. At the moment I am using an EE Osprey which I had on contract from EE. Before that I had an EE dongle (plug in USB thing) also on contract with EE. The Osprey (which is an Alcatel Y855) has served us well and our most recent trips through Germany and then touring from York to Edinburgh saw us with a perfect Wifi signal at all times. However the Osprey is locked to EE and the requirement to use other providers SIM cards provided me with the opportunity to upgrade and like you I chose the Huawei E5577 in unlocked form which I purchased from eBay for a little more than £40.00. Considering the Osprey gave us a perfect signal (albeit in more urban areas) I have postponed the purchase of an antenna until our travels take us to more remote areas. When I do I am expecting to mount the router in a high level cupboard where the antenna can be mounted directly above and thus remove the necessity for complicate wiring.
Since the start of our motorhoming life I am thinking that cell signals have improved considerably and the receiving equipment I am using has also improved.
Good luck
Steve

Thanks. So are you saying that the Osprey router alone (with no aerial) was better than phone signal inside?

 

[Neilfg]

We have the Huawei mifi unit and a really good external 4g aerial, have only used the aerial twice this year and been in the van 7 months. Generally it connects well without it. The Huawei mifi can connect to WiFi and share it we have used this method quite a bit, works very well.

Have a WiFi router and again a good external aerial, but the opportunity/need to use are few and far between as the mobile connection is so good. If you have a good WiFi and it is a long way away then it is useful but again only used it maybe 3 times. The external aerial does make a huge difference, surprised at what it can pick up.

Mobile in the UK with a unlimited data SIM when fulltiming is a no brainer. The WiFi aerial and router is becoming less useful but it still has its place if your on a site with a good connection but hard to connect to.

 

[steviebouy]

So are you saying that the Osprey router alone (with no aerial) was better than phone signal inside?

No, it's probably the same. I use the WiFi for Ipad, laptop and phone in order to avoid the tethering issues and data costs on my phone plan. The point was I can't actually remember the last time I had a signal problem despite having no antenna.
Steve

 

[Clarky]

We have a mi-fi with a window antenna from MotorhomeWiFi which has worked well for quite a while.
More recently I have been tethering to my phone and my Vodafone contract and don’t bother using the mi-fi.
We get fast 4G just about everywhere in France and have no problems streaming TV.

Richard.

 

[chenderson1965]

We have the Huawei mifi unit and a really good external 4g aerial, have only used the aerial twice this year and been in the van 7 months. Generally it connects well without it. The Huawei mifi can connect to WiFi and share it we have used this method quite a bit, works very well.

Have a WiFi router and again a good external aerial, but the opportunity/need to use are few and far between as the mobile connection is so good. If you have a good WiFi and it is a long way away then it is useful but again only used it maybe 3 times. The external aerial does make a huge difference, surprised at what it can pick up.

Mobile in the UK with a unlimited data SIM when fulltiming is a no brainer. The WiFi aerial and router is becoming less useful but it still has its place if your on a site with a good connection but hard to connect to.

Thanks. Which 4G aerial do you have? The gain on the motorhomewifi one isn’t very good at all!

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[DBK]

John? DBK

Who said that?

 

[Neilfg]

Thanks. Which 4G aerial do you have? The gain on the motorhomewifi one isn’t very good at all!

XPOL-2

X-Polarised, High Gain, Directional LTE Antenna (2X2 MIMO)

poynting.tech

I compared this to the square cheap one about 15.00gbp, the actual difference in signal strength and quality was better but not much, this was in a very poor signal area.

The Huawei mifi unit e5577cs-321 seems to get much better connections, have compared to a couple of Netgear aircards and a new Huawei unit.

We have not fixed permanently, did look at the panorama and poynting pucks but decided that the actual gain in connection quality and speed for mobile was actually minimal. The choice of mifi unit made a bigger difference, could not believe how poor in comparison the Netgear units were.

 

[DBK]

Hi all,

We are planning our next adventures and, since it seems that will need to be away for longer to go to some of the places we would like to see, one necessity is reliable Wi-Fi so that we can keep on top of our self-employed businesses on the move. (On our recent trip to France we found a surprising number of stops where the signal was very weak or not existent and finding a café with Wi-Fi is not always convenient.

Having done my research, it seems that the Huawei unlocked system from motorhomewi-fi.com ( https://www.motorhomewifi.com/product/4g-roof-antenna-e5577-mifi-save-25/) gets good reviews for £299 plus fitting of about £100 (plus the cost of a data sim of course).

However, I can get exactly the same Wi-Fi Rueter for about £40 on eBay and an aerial for a similar amount. Given that the kit seems to contain little other than a few cables, that makes £299 look rather pricey. I have two questions, therefore,

1) I’m still wondering How much better signal I will get using this kind of external aerial rather than just tethering to my phone. Obviously different networks will have different signal qualities but, leaving this aside, I’d be interested in anyone else’s experience of using an external 4G aerial and how much better this is than using a phone inside your vehicle. I’m particularly interested in anyone else who has, like us, a motorhome with aluminium construction which I guess may make some difference to how good the mobile signal is inside.

2) Does anyone have any experience of self installing this kind of system? I guess the wiring part shouldn’t be too tricky but I’d be extremely nervous of drilling a hole in my roof!

Thanks a lot.

Chris

A description of how I fitted an external antenna can be found in the link below. If your roof is too thick to fit the retaining nut just stick the antenna down with Sikaflex. Use the shortest cables you can but the mifi needs to be accessible.

For me it has worked very well and since fitting it I've had a good connection almost everywhere. It doesn't always get a 4G connection but a strong 3G connection is fine.

If you tend to stop in popular places then an external antenna isn't really necessary although you will always get a faster connection using one. Where it tends to come into its own is in remoter mountain or coastal locations. In one place in Spain my phone couldn't connect at all and the mifi plus antenna showed a connection so feint it didn't even show one bar but a connection there was, very slow but usable - just.

https://tinyurl.com/y2hobte8

 

[chenderson1965]

A description of how I fitted an external antenna can be found in the link below. If your roof is too thick to fit the retaining nut just stick the antenna down with Sikaflex. Use the shortest cables you can but the mifi needs to be accessible.

For me it has worked very well and since fitting it I've had a good connection almost everywhere. It doesn't always get a 4G connection but a strong 3G connection is fine.

If you tend to stop in popular places then an external antenna isn't really necessary although you will always get a faster connection using one. Where it tends to come into its own is in remoter mountain or coastal locations. In one place in Spain my phone couldn't connect at all and the mifi plus antenna showed a connection so feint it didn't even show one bar but a connection there was, very slow but usable - just.

https://tinyurl.com/y2hobte8

Thanks. I’m not sure I understand the dBi ratings on aerials. The one that motorhomeWi-Fi.com bundlw with their router is 2.5-5 dB, the Solwise one that you installed is 6.2 dBi and I have found this one http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=282871934999 which is rated at 15 dBi (or 30 dBi if you count the doubling up of the dual antennae).

As I understand dBi it is a measure of electrical gain – i.e. the amount by which the aerial/antenna magnifies the incoming signal. In this case, more dBi should always be better. Is it as simple as that?

Thanks a lot.

Chris

 

[coroner]

We have a hweiwe b525 router with external annetenas fited as our main internet at home ising a three unlimited data calls texts simm as its got good line of sight to a mast it knocks out 50 to 60 meg speeds and usually gives us a connection when we take it away in the motorhome less than 100 quid off fleecebay plus monthly simm only contract

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[DBK]

Thanks. I’m not sure I understand the dBi ratings on aerials. The one that motorhomeWi-Fi.com bundlw with their router is 2.5-5 dB, the Solwise one that you installed is 6.2 dBi and I have found this one http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=282871934999 which is rated at 15 dBi (or 30 dBi if you count the doubling up of the dual antennae).

As I understand dBi it is a measure of electrical gain – i.e. the amount by which the aerial/antenna magnifies the incoming signal. In this case, more dBi should always be better. Is it as simple as that?

Thanks a lot.

Chris

I would treat the eBay figures with a huge pinch of salt. But yes, a higher figure should indicate better performance.

I think the Solwise model is slightly better than the MHW one but the latter isn't bad. The performance of the antennae will be different at different frequencies, which is why the MHW one gives a range. You can download a data sheet on the Solwise model but it probably won't make things clearer.

 

[chenderson1965]

I would treat the eBay figures with a huge pinch of salt. But yes, a higher figure should indicate better performance.

I think the Solwise model is slightly better than the MHW one but the latter isn't bad. The performance of the antennae will be different at different frequencies, which is why the MHW one gives a range. You can download a data sheet on the Solwise model but it probably won't make things clearer.

Thanks. I’ve had a look at the data sheet etc on the Solwise antenna. It definitely inspires a bit more confidence than the sketchy details on the eBay one. I wonder whether the difference in gain figures It’s because the eBay one seems to consume up to 100 W whereas the one you used is 10 W. Either way, I’m going to follow your lead. Thanks for your help. Chris

 

[DBK]

Thanks. I’ve had a look at the data sheet etc on the Solwise antenna. It definitely inspires a bit more confidence than the sketchy details on the eBay one. I wonder whether the difference in gain figures It’s because the eBay one seems to consume up to 100 W whereas the one you used is 10 W. Either way, I’m going to follow your lead. Thanks for your help. Chris

The wattage figure is meaningless, neither antenna consumes any power. I suspect the figure is the maximum power which could be handled by the antenna if it was placed a few feet from a massively powerful transmitter. From memory most mobile phone masts only push out power measured in tens of watts so the chances of an antenna being overloaded are zero.

Good luck with the project and don't hesitate to ask if anything puzzles you.

 

[GMLS]

Went through the same thought process as you and did a load of research on forums and Youtube.
We've gone for the £40 Huawei unit with a cheap EE SIM card and I transfer spare data across to it from 2 other family phones when we need it. I place it on the roof (inside a sandwich box if wet) and so far when tried in many locations, we've had no need for an aerial. Generally use it with a Fire stick. Might be worth trying that approach before going further and making holes? Battery lasts a whole evening as a minimum

 

[kevenh]

I place it on the roof (inside a sandwich box if wet) and so far when tried in many locations, we've had no need for an aerial.

Interesting.
And the benefit of putting the Mifi box outside closer to the transmitter are greater than the loss of putting the MH roof between your devices and the Mifi box?
That could assist my back to basics approach

I thought I might put an external aerial loose on the MH roof but now...
Tnx

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[GMLS]

Interesting.
And the benefit of putting the Mifi box outside closer to the transmitter are greater than the loss of putting the MH roof between your devices and the Mifi box?
That could assist my back to basics approach

I thought I might put an external aerial loose on the MH roof but now...
Tnx

Seems to be. I even experimented with using a velcro strap to attach the Mi Fi to the top of the TV aerial and didn't make much difference on that occassion.
Just be aware , my positive results could be more to do with EE's strong coverage than the overall strategy.

 

[Phil 748]

Hi
Looked at getting one but was off by the cost so did it my self,
MIFI router E5577 £70.00 (Amazon) Mag mount £2.49, power unit £2.91, e bay, we have got an external aerial £5.31 but never as yet needed to connect it

Phil

 

[Addie]

Good to see a sensible thread on this subject, I felt I should pop a comment on a day or two later once the thread had progressed given that we're referenced so explicitly in the title!

We're huge advocates of going down the DIY route if you get enjoyment in doing so and almost 10 years ago when we were on our 12-month tour of Europe we started off thinking about it in a similar way. Since then we've resuced some 'interesting' DIY attempts but have seen some genius ones and everything in-between. A phone in a zip-lock bag up a flag pole is somewhere on this spectrum!

For our part, we manufacture a motorhome specific antenna fitment and Quick Mount docking station with our own power supply that vehicle manufacturers such as Swift and Auto-Sleepers can fit as standard with the relevant approvals and confidence with regards to warranty. You can buy direct or from 140+ installers/dealers and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a professional installation and still benefit from the same level of service from us.

With regards to the MiFi, we won't be competitive when compared to non-VAT registered eBay sellers offering refurbished / previously network locked MiFi devices. But, for less than a new one on Amazon when purchased as part of a kit, you get a factory unlocked/unbranded device with 2 year Huawei UK warranty, additional documentation written by us, lifetime telephone/e-mail support if you get stuck as well as tailored SIM card advice and often exclusive SIM deals.

Most of the antenna pitfalls have been expertly pointed out by DBK and making comparisons between antennas is hard. Is there a specification sheet? I would suspect not for anyone claiming 15-30dBi on eBay, it's a race to the top with the numbers. Even then, often the spec includes the use of a ground plane which is not possible with a composite coachbuilt motorhome roof without a ~30x30cm metal sheet, hence why we use a ground plane independent antenna. Can the numbers even be trusted? The reality is, every antenna will perform differently in every situation and so it's a balance of cost vs fitment method vs 'gain' vs feedback/reviews etc and of course lots of people have our system and review it highly so that takes some of the guesswork out of it.

There is no right or wrong way to approach this and often we question if a customer even needs an antenna if they say their phone / MiFi works everywhere that they go. If you don't need our installation, guidance or support then you're going to save a few quid, but if you do we'll be here if you need us.

There's plenty of good advice on MHF and I do still try and chip in where I can.

Adam

 

[Toady]

Last year in Spain, Portugal and France used my phone tethering to stream to my TV via a Roku stick. The problem was that I could not always get a connection. Was going to fit an external aerial and fit a mi-fi but I recently purchased a GlocalMe mi-fi and it is working great without an external aerial. You can install 2 SIM cards into the unit or buy data using cloud sim. You can also use your phone sim which is great if you have spare data. I live in a poor reception area but it pulls in a signal every time and connects to the Roku stick straight off. Fantastic reviews on mi-fi. May be worth a look.

 

[Jaws]

which is rated at 15 dBi

15dB !! Thats the sort of gain you can get from a 16 element Yagi with twin driven dipoles.. They are either in cloud cuckoo land, or more likely simply lying and relying on the average person not understanding.
6.8 dB is very attainable and believable using a 5/8 over 5/8 shunt end fed set up.. I would avoid the seemingly better one for one based more in the real world !

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